Spill-proof cover

ABSTRACT

A spill-proof cover comprising two or more sectored layers that snap fit or are integral to the rim of covers so as to allow access to snacks and similar food materials in a cup, bowl or any container without any spillage of the snacks or material when the cup, bowl or container is jostled or accidentally falls on the floor, sofa or anywhere. The triangularly sectored layers are off-set from the center and one is rotated a hundred and eighty degrees with respect and thereby provides the spill-proof nature of this invention; more than two layers and geometric shapes other than triangular sectors are also envisaged in this invention.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on and claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application 60/848,873 filed Oct. 3, 2006.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are presently available a number of covers, lids and caps thatappear to address the prevention of liquids spilling from cups andcontainers in general when used and when inadvertently jostled orknocked over or dropped. All these involve ducting and orifices to allowflow black with annular containment provisions or entail multiple-piecevalve assemblies and so on and are examples of prior art described inU.S. patents such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,542,670; 5,607,073 and 5,890,621to name a few. Not too many of these address the issue of preventing thespillage of non-liquid food such as cereals, potato chips, cheesebiscuits and the like that children consume and that can be spilled ontofamily room carpets and floors in general when consumed. With thepresent day proliferation of snacks that are available, from PepperidgeFarms' Goldfish series of cheesy snacks to Frito-Lays' Cheetos and thelike, the potential mess that can be created by toddlers, teenagers andeven adults snacking while watching TV is really quite considerable andcan entail annoying cleanup times and frayed nerves that results whenliving quarters and bedrooms get messy. There is thus a need for a goodspill-proof cover or lid that can be used with most containers, bowlsand the like that people use to hold their chips, cookies, cereals andsnacks to much on while watching TV or doing any other things around thehouse. It is fair to say that these entire prior art mostly address theprevention of spillage of liquids and are complicated and costly indesign. U.S. Pat. No. 6,656,514 describes a spill-proof lid for acontainer with a frustoconical flange extending inwardly from the topend of the rim and having an annular bottom end spaced radially from therim to provide an opening through which the item in the container areaccessed. This prior art describes flaps that close the opening afterthe items have been removed and so on. This prior art does notaffectively prevent spillage and the frustoconical flange nature of thedevice could prove to be complicated and expensive to fabricate andmanufacture.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The spill-proof cover that is shown in FIGS. 1 thru 9 consists of layersof sectored plastic attached to a circumferential lid ring that can thenbe used to cover containers so that the contents of the container can betaken out and at the same time the sectored design substantiallyprevents the contents from spilling out when the container is tiltedsideways or even held inverted in an upside down position. Thespill-proof cover can be used with all types of containers holding foodmaterials such as popcorn, cereals, peanuts, grapes, snack crackers andso on for toddlers, children and even adults to consume. Furtherobjectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparentfrom a careful reading of the detailed description provided hereinbelow,with appropriate references to the accompanying drawings.

ADVANTAGES OF THIS INVENTION

The main advantage of this invention is that it provides for a trulyfunctional spill-proof cover that can be fabricated to fit the variousstandard container sizes that have conventional simply closing lids thatdo not allow one to access the food or other items contained in thecontainer. This invention thus provides a dual functioning cover thatserves to contain the food or other items in a container while at thesame time allowing easy access to it. While it is admitted and isapparent that the two layers elaborated will provide adequatespill-proof function, more layers than be used to increase thespill-proof functionality if so desired or if necessary. This inventioncan also be used for larger bowls and other general types of containers.It can even be used with liquids such as gravies, soups and so on toprovide some degree of spill-proof function while the liquids can beaccessed via use of soup spoons and other types of general spoons oreven forks if materials such as salads are to be contained and accessed.

The alternative ways for this invention to achieve its spill-proofresults would be in the different and various ways the profile of thecover can be fabricated for different specific uses. The planar anddomed versions have been illustrated in the foregoing paragraphs andother types of profiles, such as an acute angled gable like profile, athree sectioned Mansard roof like profile or any other general geometricprofile to suit a particular purpose is envisaged by this invention.Another avenue for alternative ways in the fabrication of this inventionis in the use of materials for the layers. In the foregoing paragraphsit has been mentioned that the material would have plastic propertiesthat would be between low density polyethylene plastic and cellophane.The alternative ways would be to use a variety of such material thatwould be specific to the types of food or items in the containers toallow optimal use of the dual or multi-layered spill-proof cover designto achieve the spill-proof results and at the same time allow for themost comfortable use of such a spill-proof cover.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a preferred spill-proof cover according tothe invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional elevation view of the spill-proof covershowing the two sectored layers.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional elevation view of the spill-proof covershowing two layers with the cut gap off-center.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the first (top) layer with triangularsectors off-set from the center.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the second (bottom) layer with triangularsectors off-set from the center and rotated 180 degrees relative to thefirst (top) layer.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional edge elevation view showing the first (top)and second (bottom) layers integral to the cover and the conventionalbeading that provides the tight closure.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional edge elevation view showing the first (top)layer as integral to the cover and the second (bottom) layer asdetachable with a ball and socket type of optional arrangement.

FIG. 8 is a top plan view showing clearance of the sector cuts from theperiphery to provide for better strength of the sectors.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional elevation view showing a domed version ofthe spill-proof cover.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is directed to a spill-proof cover in whichmultiple layers of suitably sectored plastic that are attached to asingle circumferential lid ring of size and shape to allow it to be usedto cover cylindrical containers, bowls, cups or other food containers.

The basic idea is, as shown in plan view in FIG. 1 and in elevation inFIG. 2, to use multiple layers of suitably sectored, completelytransparent, pliable plastic material that has properties in between lowdensity polypropylene and cellophane that attach to a singlecircumferential lid that goes on top of a cylindrical plastic containerthat holds the food material, be it popcorn or dry breakfast cereals,small crackers etc. The container will of course have its own additionalclosure lid made out of harder, stronger material that is low densitypolypropylene or other materials, even metal lids. It would be importantthat the pliable plastic material is completely transparent and clear,as it would be desirable that the toddler or child easily sees the foodthat is kept in the container. Equiangular triangular sectors are shownin the drawings as they appear to serve the purpose of allowing fairlyeasy access and provide for adequate overlap cover to minimize any foodfalling out of the container.

Two or three layers of the sectored pliable plastic sheets wouldprobably be sufficient to accomplish the spill proof effect but I havesaid multiple layers to account for the general case.

The sectored layers need to off set by an angle to allow effective coverof the cut edges and minimize or obviate food falling out of thecontainer when it is turned upside down or thrown about.

The shape of the sectors can be simple triangular or more complicatedying-yang serpentine type configurations. Other geometric shapes of thesectors can also be used with suitable offsets relative to the centerpoint of the layers to minimize leakage of the food material.

The off set of the sectors can be radial as mentioned in item 3 and canalso be off set in terms of being unequal in areas and off set from thecenter of the circle described by the circumference of the cover. Thisis shown in FIG. 3 in side views. FIGS. 4 and 5 show plan views of theequiangular triangle sectors off set from the center. This type isactually the preferred design as it affords better leak prevention.

The edges of the sectors should be beaded round to minimize or obviateany abrasiveness as it would then be more conducive to use by toddlers,children and even adults. No one wants to be scoured when taking popcornor other food from a container. It is again stressed that the sectoredlayers be made of pliable, soft material with smooth edges and thematerial would have properties that lie between that of low densitypolyethylene and cellophane.

The round beading of the sector edges will also provide some degree ofinterlocking of the different layers, which is an additional desiredproperty.

While I say that the pliable plastic material should be completelytransparent, the concept of imprinting motives that relate to anycorporate logo or themes is not ruled out as it could be done in amanner that does not totally occlude the food material in the containerand also conveys an image or message at the same time.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show the outer and inner rims of the circumferential edgeof the cover in a simple manner as the detailed, existing manner ofeffecting tight closures of lids in not the purpose of this invention.The conventional manner of effecting tight closures on the edge of thecover is referred to as conventional beading in FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 7also illustrates the concept of having a detachable second (bottom)layer that is attached to the cover inner rim via a ball and socket typeof arrangement. This is simply for the case of having such anarrangement to allow better cleaning of the spill-proof cover by havingthe flexibility to detach them and thus allow better and throughcleaning in a dishwasher or via hand cleaning with a brush. For themulti-layered case, it is thus envisaged that all or some can be of thisball and socket arrangement to suit the needs of the situation in termsof the container size and food or other items to be used in thecontainer. It is also envisages that the two or multiple layers beintegral to the container rim by manufacturing it as a integralinjection molded unit to provide for the manufacturing advantagesafforded by such an approach as well as to have a single integralspill-proof cover.

While a circular form of this cover has been discussed and detailed, itis also envisaged that the same types of sectored layers can be used forsquare and other geometric forms to accommodate other containers withnon circular openings.

It is also envisaged by this invention that the sector cuts have aclearance from the circumference of the cover to afford better use as itwill it will serve to act against any breaking off of the sectors aswould be the case if it is cut right to the circumferential edge itself.This is shown in FIG. 8.

While this invention has been shown to be a cover that is planar, it isalso envisaged to be domed to provide for additional void space for easeof use as it would then allow the container to be filled to the brim andthis embodiment of the invention is shown in elevation in FIG. 9. Thedomed version shown is the kind that is off-set from the center asillustrated for the planar version in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5.

Again, while the planar and dome types of this invention have beenelaborated upon in the foregoing paragraphs, this invention alsoenvisages other three dimensional profiles such as an acute angle gableroof type of profile or a three segmented Mansard roof like profile andalso spill-proof covers based on the foregoing descriptions for square,rectangular and any geometric shapes that the container may exist in.

While this invention has been described in the foregoing paragraphs asattaching to the rim of existing container covers and lids, it is alsoenvisaged that it can be used to be attached to the hard rims ofpop-corn tubs and similar containers via having an indented annulus inthe rim, thereby snap fitting the spill-proof cover to pop-corn tubs intheaters and sports concession stands and other similar fare venues.

1. A planar or curvilinear (dome and other geometric profiles)spill-proof cover that consists of two or more layers that are suitablysectored, symmetrically and asymmetrically, that are attached via a balland socket and other similar attaching systems, or are integrallyattached to a single circumferential lid that has beading and groovesthat are of conventional design to securely fasten on to containers ofvarious sizes and shapes, the material of the cover having propertiesbetween that of low density polyethylene and cellophane, and covers thatare circular as well as square, rectangular and other geometric shapesas dictated by the containers in general to hold and access withoutspilling food materials such as popcorn, cereals, cookies, peanuts andso on for use by toddlers, children and even adults.
 2. A spill-proofcover of claim 1 wherein the spill-proof cover has one layer withtriangular sectors off-set from the center and a second layer withtriangular sectors off-set from the center and this second layer isrotated one hundred and eighty degrees with respect to the first layerso as to not have sector opening focal point coincide and therebyproviding for a more leak proof configuration of the two layers.
 3. Aspill-proof cover of claim 2 wherein the sector cuts of the two layershave a clearance from the cover circumferential periphery to provide forenhances strength of the sectors
 4. A spill-proof cover of claim 3wherein the edges of the sector cuts are buffed or beaded to minimizeany abrading effect on the fingers of portions of the hand when thesnack, food or other material from the container is obtained by thechild, teenager or adult.
 5. A spill-proof cover of claim 4 wherein thespill-proof cover is made of plastic material having the transparency,pliability and properties between that of low density polyethylene andcellophane.
 6. A spill-proof cover of claim 5 wherein the spill-proofcover is made with the outermost circumferential ring with an indentedannulus to tightly engage with the hardened rim of pop-corn tubs andsimilar containers used in cinema theaters and other sporting concessionstands and venues.